Ghost Towns and Mines
Simon, NV
The first small-scale lead mining started here in 1879. The big strike came in 1919 when silver-bearing lead/zinc ores were found. A 150 ton floatation mill was built in 1921, and enlarged in 1923. This mill operated until 1927. There are several significant mines in the area and many smaller ones, but the biggest was the Simon Mine. It had a three-compartment shaft, a total depth of over 1000 feet, and total underground workings of 25,000 feet.
The Simon mine was reworked in the 1930s. A power outage in 1931 resulted in flooding of the lower levels of the mine.
Today there is still much to see at the site. I’ve created a separate page for each area of interest...
Posted September 2014.
(Click the title or any photo to see more pics of each structure and its surroundings.)
As you enter the area from the west, the first thing you’ll see is this mine with its wooden headframe standing on a low hill. The headframe and tiny ore bin are in good condition, as is the timber-lined, three-compartment shaft. Several foundations and a blacksmith’s forge can be found nearby.
Simon, NV: The Ore Bin and Mill Ruins
The mill was located farther up the canyon.
The ruins of the mill’s wooden building have burned down, leaving only concrete foundations which cover a large area of hillside.
A large, picturesque ore bin with a long chute and trestle stands on the hill just east of the mill ruins. On the ledge above it there are foundations and debris from another mine, plus a deep pit, the remains of the mine’s caved-in shaft.
The largest and most recently active of the mines. The Simon Mine no longer has a headframe and the concrete collar around the shaft is partially collapsed, but a large and interesting building stands at the site.
Nearby is a riveted steel tank from a railroad car, sans wheels, apparently used to hold water for the mines. A relatively modern sheet metal building is also at the site.
A strange concrete shack overlooks the mill ruins. There is a door at each end, and two openings on the north side. The interior is divided into four sections linked by a narrow walkway, and drainage channels are cast into the concrete floor. Four concrete pads are located adjacent to this shack. I suspect the shack once housed electrical equipment.
To the east, atop another hill, is a small corrugated shack with an unusual frame of iron pipes.
Across the canyon from the mines and mill are the remains of several cabins. Many have collapsed completely and those that remain are barely recognizable.
About a mile west of Simon is a modern ghost site -- an abandoned open pit mine. As open pit mines go, this one was a very small operation.
One dilapidated cabin at the site is very old, a relic from an earlier era. A travel trailer used as the mine’s office dates to the 1950s or early ‘60s, but there are modern ore trucks and other equipment that indicate the site was worked up until the ‘80s or ‘90s -- maybe even later.
Copyright Notice:
The contents of this entire site are property of Ray R. Dunakin III except where noted, and may not be used without permission.